Dolphins show they can Fin-ish

Coach Joe Philbin’s team showed all of us plenty in the Dolphins’ come-from-behind, 27-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Miami.

The Falcons (1-2) came into the game ravaged by injuries, but for three quarters Matt Ryan was, as expected, the better quarterback on the field.

Then second-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill drove the Dolphins to their winning points, hitting rookie tight end Dion Sims with a 1-yard TD pass with 38 seconds left as Miami kept pace with New England atop the AFC East.

Tannehill and the Dolphins were down, 10-0, then 20-10, but remained unfazed.

The Miami offensive line didn’t allow Tannehill to be sacked by a Falcons defense sorely missing injured defensive end Kroy Biermann and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.

And we’re left to wonder how much longer Dolphins owner Stephen Ross will have to buy thousands of unsold tickets to ensure his franchise’s home games won’t be blacked out locally.

Quick hits from Week 3:

The DeMarcus and DeMarco Show: That's what Fox announcer Kenny Albert called Dallas’ destruction of the St. Louis Rams, 31-7. DeMarcus Ware had two of the Cowboys' six sacks of Sam Bradford, surpassing Harvey Martin as the Dallas career leader (115). The Rams had not allowed a sack in their past four games, but Bradford went down four times in the first half.

DeMarco Murray rushed for 175 yards and a TD to set the offensive tone; in 2011, he came off the bench to set the Cowboys single-game record with 253 yards against the Rams. You’d think Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis’ coach in ’11, had come back to replace Jeff Fisher, or something.

Worst non-call of the day: The San Diego Chargers were victimized by this one. Tennessee Titans rookie Justin Hunter made his first NFL catch, a winning 34-yard TD from Jake Locker with 15 seconds remaining. But Hunter blatantly pushed off San Diego cornerback Crezdon Butler to make the reception. In a league where any contact made by a defender more than 5 yards past the scrimmage line is illegal, it's past time for the hands of the receivers to be restricted as well.

Weak at both ends: There's starting poorly and finishing poorly. Then there are the Packers. They trailed, 14-0, at Cincinnati before Aaron Rodgers touched the football, thanks to a fumbled kickoff return by Jeremy Ross between Bengals TDs. Rodgers rallied Green Bay to a 30-14 lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter, only to have Cincinnati score the final 20 points and win, 34-30, on a 58-yard return TD after a fumble by rookie Johnathan Franklin (UCLA). He rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries after James Starks got hurt, but since Franklin lost the ball, Coach Mike McCarthy might never call another running play.

Welcome back, now go home: Safety Ed Reed, coming off a hip injury, made his Houston Texans debut in Baltimore, where he played the past 11 years. The defending Super Bowl champs spoiled Reed’s return, 30-9. Two Ravens’ TDs were an 82-yard punt return by Tandon Doss (filling in for injured Jacoby Jones), and a 37-yard interception by Daryl Smith (replacing retired great Ray Lewis).

Hoyer, the Destroyer: Brian Hoyer spent three years as a near-anonymous Patriots backup to Tom Brady. Then Ryan Mallett came along, and Hoyer was on the Cardinals and Steelers last season. On Sunday, Hoyer started for the Browns in Minnesota and threw three TD passes in Cleveland’s 31-27 upset. The starting running backs for the respective teams were quite a contrast: Reigning NFL MVP Adrian Peterson for the now 0-3 Vikings, and the Browns’ Bobby Rainey, who hadn’t carried the ball in the NFL.

A Giant embarrassment: I can’t recall when any other NFL game left me speechless, or qwithout an opinion, before New York’s 38-0 loss at Carolina. I don’t have a clue as to how the Giants got so bad so quick; Coach Tom Coughlin doesn’t, either.